Connecticut Democratic primary

Wow, our votes may matter.

I’m in the awkward position of liking most everyone in the race, though I worry that John Edwards is too flimsy for the job. Obama and Clinton are terrific speakers and embody something drastically different and better even if they say nothing at all.

Bill Richardson is great. I trust that whoever wins the nomination will snatch him up as the vice presidential candidate.

I can’t decide who to vote for, though, because they’re all good. Or maybe it’s just that after seven years of Bush, anyone looks terrific.

The Connecticut primary, Republican edition

I keep imaging a group of Republican business leaders sitting around in Washington trying to figure out which of these candidates angling for the GOP nomination could possibly be worth investing in.  They’re all seemingly decent — except for Rudy, of course — but they seem so lightweight and doomed. The bigshots must be beside themselves that nobody has emerged who could possibly win.

Personally, I like John McCain, even though I disagree with him about the war, social issues and more. He has heft and experience. But the Republican base hates him.

The rest of the GOP presidential contenders just seem like so much confetti, sometimes pretty but useless.

So what to do on primary day? Who you going to vote for? How come?

Let’s get rolling again

Without my colorful, useful calendar from the town — discontinued to save money, without any warning at all — I only just realized that it’s 2008 and that this blog needs some attention.

It looks like we’re going to have a ton to talk about, from a looming redistricting to how much to tip a peddle cab in West Hartford Center. I probably should just get a job cycling since that would, in short order, allow me to keep my resolution to exercise more. On the other hand, it might kill me.

I’ve had my ear to the ground lately, listening to neighbors, friends and even politicians (yes, I’m out and about sometimes, secretly) and I know we have an awful lot to talk about here. And I promise to do a much better job of posting the topics of the moment to spur some discussion so we can all learn more about what’s going on and why.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, whatever

All the best to anyone reading. Let’s hope the peace and joy of this season extends into 2008!

Gambling needs more attention

Is there anything that’s a greater waste of money than gambling?

When I see those old ladies pumping money into the slots at Foxwoods or the crowds playing roulette at Mohegan Sun, I just feel sick.

But I think I feel even worse that gamblers are increasingly turning to online casinos such as this one that touts itself as the top poker room where they’re pissing away their money in the dark of their own rooms.

It’s a travesty, a sickness, and one that our government doesn’t do nearly enough to combat.

Lieberman backs McCain

Here in West Hartford, we kinda like Joe Lieberman. It’s not just that he reminds us of a guy we might run into at Waldbaum’s after work. It’s that he’s kind of sweet personally and not all pumped up with his own grandeur.

Of course, he’s a steaming mad nutcase when it comes to foreign policy, but we figure there’s a State Department and the Joint Chiefs to keep him from making much of a difference there.

Even so, it’s kind of strange to see Lieberman endorsing John McCain. McCain’s our kind of Republican, of course, since he’s not anyone else’s kind of Republican.

It’s just odd to see a guy who won the vice presidency in 2000 on the Democratic ticket – though five justices made sure he never got to serve — is now endorsing a has-been GOP contender for the nation’s top office.

What’s in it for Lieberman? A few minutes on C-Span?

I wonder sometimes if Lieberman needs to come home. Perhaps it’s Washington that’s making him lose his mind.

Snowing already…

I’m worn out from shoveling.

It didn’t help, of course, that after wearily putting away the shovels last night, I woke up to find that the plows had inundated my driveway and sidewalks.

Of course, I knew it would happen. It always does.

I can’t really fault the town. The snow has to go somewhere, of course, and it’s probably unrealistic for the drivers can put it all in front of that house up the street where that guy I don’t like lives.

But still.

And to hear on the radio when I finally got done that another storm is heading our way Saturday night or Sunday, well, that’s why I should have popped in Springsteen’s new Magic CD and left the news to those who are stronger than I am.

I’m too tired for winter.

$500K coming for Science Center move

From this week’s State Bond Commission agenda: 

DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT GRANT-IN-AID TO THE TOWN OF WEST HARTFORD, FOR SITE ACQUISITION AND IMPROVEMENTS FOR THE SCIENCE CENTER OF CONNECTICUT

REQUESTED: An Allocation and Bond Authorization (to agency) $500,000

FROM: Sec. 32 (j)(20) Acct. No. 12052-ECD46000-43090

Total Earmarking $500,000

Previous Allocations - 0 -

Balance Unallocated $500,000

REASON FOR REQUEST:

These funds are requested to provide a grant-in-aid to the Town of West Hartford for site acquisition, and necessary renovations and improvements to allow for the relocation of the Children’s Museum formerly known as the Science Center of Connecticut into the Elmwood section of the town.

Total Grant-in-Aid, This Request $500,000

Rock for Rights!

Rock for Rights! 2007

Rock out, get educated, and change the world!

“Rock for Rights!” is a new organization targeting high school students in the West Hartford community.  The event on December 15th will be a fair to get students educated about some of the issues that plague our global society, as well as how they can get involved and get active about what concerns them.  The “Rock” part refers to a concert that will be occurring at the same time and location as the fair.  High school bands from town, as well as larger, regional bands will be playing throughout the afternoon.  There will also be speakers and clips from movies to further educate kids.  Our motivation is the idea that high school students have incredible passion and potential for activism… they simply need to be educated about the issues and inspired to do something about it. 

Another layer of “R4R” is that the students are working very hard to pull the West Hartford community together.  Students from Hall, Conard, Kingswood-Oxford, Northwest Catholic and Watkinson are working together to speak to local businesses, activists, organizations, and politicians.  Most of the foci of the tables will be on human rights, peace, environmental issues and sustainability projects, amnesty (letter writing to incarcerated peoples around the world), soldiers’ rights, students’ rights, hunger (both home and abroad), and women’s health issues (again, home and abroad), as well as organizations that use various media to reach youth.

In addition to tables and bands, we are working to secure many donations for raffles from local businesses and restaurants in West Hartford Center, Blue Back Square, and Bishops Corner.  We will also be selling unique “Rock for Rights!  2007” t-shirts at the event.  The front will have our hand-heart-music note logo, and the back will publicly thank all of those businesses, organizations, and community members who have helped us make this event a reality, as well as names of all the bands who perform.  (Sweatshop free shirts, of course!)  Any money that is raised through tickets and t-shirts for this event will be used to put the show on (paying for bands, sound, shirts, etc.) and any profit that is made will be fed directly into the schools that helped produce it.  Each school has a human rights / global improvement club; they can do what they want with their portion of the proceeds.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

When:  December 15, 2007   12pm-7pm

Where:  West Hartford Town Hall

Bands:  ZOX, Barefoot Truth, Among Criminals + local student bands

Tickets:  $20; includes “Rock for Rights! 2007” t-shirt (adult sizes)

T-shirts:  $10 on day of event

 For more information email rock4rights@gmail.com or Facebook us at Rock West Hartford

If you are interested in giving donations or hosting a table, please email us!

 

Supervising Faculty:  Steph Sperber (Social Studies, Hall HS)

What’s up with West Hartford’s closets?

I’m sort of afraid to peer too deeply into that funny old closet beside my dryer that I can’t open because the machine’s in the way.

After all, police found a kidnapped girl living in a closet under the stairs in a house in Elmwood not long ago. And now we find out that a doctor who lived on Griswold Drive left a cache of child porn slides and films featuring his young patients, paperboys and anyone else he could photograph.

Imagine buying your dream house — a typical old place in town that requires way too much renovation and upkeep — and when you start ripping down some ugly old thing in the basement, a flood of perversion falls all over your floor. Fun times, eh?

Anyway, I’m officially proclaiming a moratorium on opening old closets in West Hartford. They’re like Pandora’s Box. You just don’t know what you’ll find.